DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-023, February 6, 2005
Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING
edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com
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NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1262:
Mon 0530 WOR WBCQ 7415
Mon 0900 WOR R. Lavalamp
Mon 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours
Tue 0700 WOR WPKN Bridgeport CT 89.5
Tue 1000 WOR WRMI 9955
Tue 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours
Wed 1030 WOR WWCR 9985
Wed 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours
MORE info including audio links: http://worldofradio.com/radioskd.html
WRN ONDEMAND:
http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24
OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]
WORLD OF RADIO 1262 (high version):
(stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1262h.ram
(download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1262h.rm
WORLD OF RADIO 1262 (low version):
(stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1262.ram
(download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1262.rm
(summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1262.html
WORLD OF RADIO 1262 in the true shortwave sound of 7415:
(stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_02-02-05.m3u
(d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_02-02-05.mp3
** ALAND ISLANDS. "A team of experts on AM antennas are now on Åland
searching around for a new QTH to the 603 kHz. A mobile low power AM
transmitter will be in service very soon. Testings only." (License
owner Roy Sundgren, Sweden on Anorak Nation mailing list, 5 Feb 2005)
(via Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, MWDX yg via DXLD)
Further to this story, Roy Sandgren has posted the following comment
to in the Media Network Weblog:
"Yes, I got a comment. I got the licence of 603 and will return on the
air in May. A lowpower transmitter until a 2 kW will be in service.
Next step is a 7.5 kW. I'm going to [make] an application for 756 kHz,
too." (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** ARGENTINA. 6215, (Presumed ) R. Baluarte, 0009-0033, Feb. 4,
Spanish, Ballads with OM and YL between selections. Two announcers at
0030 but no discernible ID noted. Poor/weak under static. Running past
0000* on weekends? (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200'
Beverage antennas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** AUSTRALIA. 11750, 5.2 0830, HCJB DX Partyline including Christian
Shortwave Update produced by Christer Brunström. This is broadcast the
first Saturday every month since several years back. Certainly
completely meaningless to inform about this in SWB as I can understand
none of the SWB members ever listen to DX-programs (or other similar
programs) - except for HK (Henrik Klemetz (and Glenn Hauser)! 3-4 CB
(Christer Brunström, Sweden, SW Bulletin Feb 6, translated by editor
Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** BANGLADESH. 7185, Bangladesh Betar, *1228-1300* Jan. 30, English,
IS, ID, "tinny" fanfare into news. Rough copy but able to hear talks
re tsunami, economic summit and lots of $$ figures tossed around.
Cultural program at 1244 re Bangladesh winter season, native music,
sign-off announcements. Poor tho better than it was earlier this
season (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverage
antennas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
7185, Bangladesh Betar, 1230 in English, woman "And now
back to our regular transmission.." followed by news in English by
male. Fair and surprisingly strong signal 1/31 (John Figliozzi, French
Creek State Park, PA, Drake R8A, longwires, HCDX via DXLD)
** BRAZIL. 17814.7, R. Cultura, São Paulo 2330 woman singing a very
lively song and a male announcer. Very weak, 1 kW listed, 1/30. Heard
again 2/4 in Halfmoon NY with sloper antenna instead, on 17815 with
Brazilian jazz vocals. Poor (John Figliozzi, French Creek State Park,
PA, Drake R8A, longwires, HCDX via DXLD)
** BRAZIL. Olá pessoal da lista. Estou escutando agora 1436 UT uma
transmissão em 7842 em AM o qual se identifica como Rádio Diário da
Manhã. Estão sendo tocadas várias músicas sertanejas. O "locutor" está
mandando vários abraços a pessoas da região de Santa Catarina.
Mencionou várias vezes sobre a cidade de Lages, também no sul do
Brasil. Acho que pode ser alguma pessoa que montou um transmissor
caseiro pois ali se encontra várias estações clandestinas de
radioamador. Favor confirmarem !!!! A transmissão está chegando com
sinal muito bom de 6 a 8 db´s. Equipamento usado Kenwood R5000 e
antena dipolo com 20 metros de comprimento. Abraços a todos (Anderson
Assis de Oliveira, Itaúna/MG, Feb 6, via radioescutas via DXLD)
** BRAZIL. Desde Curitiba (PR), Marcelo Bedene informa que pretende
realizar trabalho junto ao pessoal da Rádio Tupi com o objetivo de
``doutriná-los`` a enviar o cartão QSL aos radioescutas. A tarefa não
é fácil, pois a emissora tem como público-alvo apenas os ouvintes que
seguem a religião pentecostal Deus é Amor. É evidente que os
radioescutas podem ajudar o Departamento Técnico da emissora a mapear
os locais aonde seus sinais chegam. Por enquanto, o Bedene informa que
o engenheiro responsável pelo parque técnico da emissora é Latuf
Aurani e o endereço postal é: Rádio Tupi, Rua João Negrão, 595,
Centro, CEP: 80010-200, Curitiba (PR). Telefone: (41) 323.1353.
BRASIL - Substituição na Gerência Técnica da Rádio Gaúcha, de Porto
Alegre (RS). Já está trabalhando na emissora o engenheiro Caio Klein
que, inclusive, responde aos informes de recepção enviados pelos
radioescutas. Quem deixou o setor foi o engenheiro Gilberto Küssler,
que durante muitos anos atuou com competência em todo o Sistema RBS
Rádios. Küssler foi contratado pelo Sistema Globo de Rádios e trabalha
no Rio de Janeiro (RJ).
BRASIL - A Rádio Educação Rural, de Campo Grande (MS), mudou de dono e
de programação. Sai o estilo popular e entra o religioso. A emissora,
agora, retransmite os espaços da Rede Milícia Sat, produzidos em São
Paulo (SP). O colunista ouviu a emissora, em três de fevereiro, por
volta de 0410, em 4755 kHz. Portanto, a estação permanece mais tempo
no ar, conforme informações do operador, João Bosco. Ainda não há um
responsável pela direção da emissora em Campo Grande (MS), mas o
endereço físico permanece o mesmo (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade
DX Feb 6 via DXLD)
** BULGARIA. 9500, (Presumed), R. Varna, 2306-2317, Jan. 30,
Bulgarian, Bulgarian folk music and talks battling for dominance with
co-channel CPBS-Shijiazhuang. Poor (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale,
NH, R75, 200' Beverage antennas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Sunday only (gh)
** CANADA. Glenn: I tuned in to RCI's English to NAm broadcast at
about 2010 UT [15180] and have heard nothing but pop music with no
announcements. There was no ID or news at TOH 2100. Tapestry and Cross
Country Checkup are the scheduled programs. Studio problems?
[Later:] Glenn: Recheck at 2206, open carrier on 15180 kHz. I checked
the DRM signal on 9800 - good signal but no audio until it suddenly
came on 2214. Interestingly, audio on 15,180 came on at the same time
- parallel (but slightly ahead of ) to 9800. I went to
http://www.drm.org/livebroadcast/globfieldtrial.htm to check for the
DRM schedule, but the 9800 broadcasts are not listed - deleted due to
placement of the special broadcasts to Mexico? Anyway, The RCI
schedule page shows that the RCI DRM segment is 2200 to 2300. Curious,
no? (Alan Johnson, N4LUS/7, NV, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Alan, The second hour of Sunday Edition (1500+) had frequent audio
drop-offs. A very interesting interview about Turkish genocide (or was
it?) of the Armenians in 1915y. Must be a satellite (or whatever) feed
problem (Glenn, DXLD)
Glenn: For almost 2 hours now on 6175 KHz I am getting a good signal
of music, English, kind of a pop, eclectic, not very familiar. No
interruptions of any kind at top or bottom of hour. I haven't listened
to this frequency at this time much at all recently so don't know if
this is irregular. The two hours in question is 0230 until 0430 and it
is still on, although I may quit listening soon. Monitoring Times (and
thanks for your work there and the soon to be email only Canadian DX
Club Messenger) shows Voice of Vietnam at 6175 from 0200 to 0245 with
a North American stream. Not tonight, I don't think (Andy Ooms, Pine,
AZ, UT Feb 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Andy, RCI must have big problems losing its feed to Sackville. Don`t
they have a backup?? They were cutting out this morning with CBC
relay, and this afternoon someone heard nothing but music fill too on
15180, supposed to be Cross Country Checkup from CBC. 73, (Glenn to
Andy, via DXLD)
** CANADA. Não! As ondas curtas não fazem parte do passado! É incrível
a resposta que o espaço Canadá Direto vem recebendo, após 14 anos de
ausência da RCI no idioma português. A comprovação é feita pelas
ligações que o telefone gratuito recebe de todo o Brasil, além das
cartas clássicas e e-mails (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX Feb 6
via DXLD)
** CHINA [non]. on the radio-info DX board Al Rocker reported hearing
China Radio International on 1540 at ``9 pm CST`` Jan 16. Others
suggested it may have been CHIN Toronto, the multi-cultural station,
so I checked their schedule at http://www.chinradio.com/amfm.asp ---
CRI is on there, all right, but it says Mandarin at 1800 ET, English
at 1900 [0000-0100 UT daily] (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** COLOMBIA. Uncle Harold passes along that several Jihad-DX reporters
have recently reported hearing commercial South American stations,
mainly Colombian, on 6923v. Speculation is that this isn't a pirate
but someone "holding the frequency" for unknown purposes (Ken Zichi,
MARE Tipsheet Feb 6 via DXLD)
** COLOMBIA. 0730 UT Feb 5, 2740 kHz, 25232, R. Mundial, segunda
armónica.
0900 UT Feb 5, 5910, 51544, La Voz de Tu Conciencia. Curiosa
retransmisión de música popular latinoamericana de la estación en FM
MARFIL STEREO (estación en 88.8 FM en el departamento de Meta,
Colombia). En castellano. No está listada en PTWBR (Alvin Mirabal,
Puerto Rico, Icom IC-R71A, Antena de cercado en alambre eslabonado,
condiglist via DXLD)
5910.47, 3.2 0630, Marfil Estéreo with very good strength and nice
music, lots of IDs, some ads - almost like a dream as Ukraine (?) has
closed down at this time. QSA 4. JE (Jan Edh, Sweden, SW Bulletin Feb
6, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST)
5910.46, 2.2 0655, Radio Marfil Stereo 88.8 FM, was heard very well,
when the Europeans on the frequency were gone. Several IDs and
telephone number for ``Colombia para Cristo``, the owner of the
station. S 3-4! PS! not heard this morning, Feb 4. BEFF (Björn
Fransson, Sweden, ibid.)
** CUBA. Radio Habana Cuba, Apartado Postal 6240, La Habana, Cuba
Radio Habana Cuba, Infanta No.105 - Esq. 25 6to. Piso, La Habana,
Cuba. Telefono: (53-7) 877 6533 FAX: (53-7) 870 5810
E-mail: radiohc@enet.cu
Concurso Ameca :
Pregunta: ¿Que sabe usted de la Asociación Médica del Caribe?
Pregunta: ¿Qué tipo de eventos organiza esta asociación?
Se concederá un primer premio consistente en un viaje a Cuba por
espacio de una semana, y la participación en el X congreso de Ameca.
Se entregarán además 10 menciones de los mejores trabajos. El plazo de
admisión vence el 28 de febrero del 2005.
Las respuestas se pueden enviar a Radio Habana Cuba o a:
Asociación Médica del Caribe, Calle 18, No. 710 entre 7ma. Y 29 A, La
Habana, Cuba.
Telefono: (53-7) 205 1575 - 202 3636
FAX: (53-7) 662075
E-mail: amecacma @ infomed.sid.cu ameca @ ceniai.inf.cu bcimeq @
infomed.sid.cu Website: http://www.ameca.cu
(via Rubén Wálter Suárez, Uruguay, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see VENEZUELA
** CYPRUS TURKISH. QSL reports: Lars Skoglund: I have got a nice QSL
from: Radio Bayrak International 6150 with 2 letters in Swedish as
well as in English, info folder and photo. V/S is Bertil Wedin who
produces and also presents the program "Magazine North". Bertil was
also a DXer in younger days. Rolf Åhman: Finally a QSL from Radio
Bayrak International-6150 where v/s Bertil Wedin repied with 2
letters, folder and photo. Always nice with a new country. Jan Edh:
Radio Bayrak 6150. Letter in Swedish and English, postcard, station
folder, a millon lira note. V/s. Bertil Wedin. New country (no. 218),
but not new station! (SW Bulletin Feb 6, translated by editor Thomas
Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. May I remind you guys that DX Listening Digest
has lots of MW news in it, including 14 hits for "Juventus Don Bosco"
site:worldofradio.com at Google. There was all kinds of info about
this when it first emerged last July. (just searching on "Bosco" will
get several unrelated hits.) 73, (Glenn Hauser, NRC-AM via DXLD)
Thanks Glenn: I looked at a web search and it seems that there are no
reported receptions of Juventus Don Bosco in North America and
virtually all of the hits were from the WoR and DXLD. I suppose the
lack of reported North American reception is because of co-channel
interference from the domestic stations. A similar case would be the
lack of KFNY in North America outside of the mid-West. Also, European
DXers have an "easier" time picking up the MW stations in the Maritime
Provinces that DXers even in New England. I find this all to be very
interesting (Bill Harms, Elkridge, Maryland, ibid.)
** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 15190, 29.1 1620, Radio Africa No. 2, English,
Christian programming "halleluja, halleluja Jesus", QRM from BBCWS
Antigua on the same frequency. 32322 BV (Bjarke Vestesen, Denmark, SW
Bulletin Feb 6, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** GERMANY [non]. On 06. February 2005 at 1400-1500 CET, the Stör -
Sender will be on 9290 kHz on air via Latvia again. You can find
pictures (Home==>Pictures==>Ulbroka) of the 100 000 Watt transmitter
and the 9290 antenna on the Internet site http://www.rrms.de
http://www.rrms.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=1&Itemid=52
"A small artificial waterway, called the Stör, lends its name to a
free and independent radio station located in the northeast of
Germany. The Stör is situated to the south of the Land capital of
Mecklenburg - Vorpommern, Schwerin, and connects the Schwerin Lake
with the Elde - Müritz - waterway and thus with the lower river Elbe.
Our studio is located not far from the Stör. Therefore we called our
radio station "Stör - Sender" (which means in the original meaning of
the word: "jammer"). In the sense of the ambiguity of this name, we
intend to broadcast and to jam. We will broadcast as independent radio
station, and jam the unison of the German radio stations which blare
out the same mainstream songs over and over again. We do not intend to
produce perfect radio programs. What we want is lively radio. We want
to draw on the wealth of international and German popular music,
broadcast the pieces of young artists and bands, and we want to
contribute to make this fantastic Land of Mecklenburg - Vorpommern
known. By the way, our radio programs are broadcast via a licensed
100,000 watt radio station in Ulbroka (Republic of Latvia)."
(via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Received to late for advance (gh)
** GUATEMALA. 4799.9, R. Buenas Nuevas, San Sebastián, 0126 simple
hymn by choir and announcement by woman in unID language. Fair but
bothered by bad het, 1/31 (John Figliozzi, French Creek State Park,
PA, Drake R8A, longwires, HCDX via DXLD)
** GUIANA FRENCH. We have started today DRM transmission from French
Guyana at around 1830 UT on 21645 beaming 35 (to France just for
fun!) but the normal direction is 275 to Mexico city. This test to
France was negative as the 21 MHz band was completly dead at 1930
local time.
Tomorrow between 1200 and 1600 we will do new transmissions to 295
but also to France mainland on 17875 or 21645 MHz with about 30 kW to
a 4/4/1 rotatable antenna.
I am not so sure that it will be good for you in Virginia, better for
the US west coast when beaming to Mexico but just try it! Thanks again
for your help during our first tests from France to Dallas in
November. Good luck and keep in touch (Jacques Gruson, F6AJW, TDF, Feb
2, DRM Forums via DXLD)
We are currently transmitting on 21650 kHz (not 21645) at 35 to
Europe were we are received quite well. We need to move because of a
local QRM from Saudi Arabia on 21640 in Europe but we will be back on
21645 for A04 HFCC demo.
Portugal is also transmitting to Brazil on 21650 kHz starting at 1700
UT. [that would be 21655 analog --- gh] 73 (Jacques Gruson, Feb 3,
ibid.)
** ICELAND. 7590U, AFN, 2331-2347, Jan. 31, English, NPR "Marketplace"
re Social Security, Microsoft and other business related topics. Fair
with fades (Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverage
antennas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INDIA. 4970.0, AIR Shillong, Feb 6, 1518 news in vernacular, weak
but clearly //9425. Seems to have settled back into this freq. (Ron
Howard, Monterey, CA, NRD545, DX LISTENING DIGEST )
** INDONESIA. I also had a nice carrier on 9525 during what should
have been Voice of Indonesia around 2030 UT like yesterday but someone
forgot to plug the audio in. Such a waste of good propagation, hi!
(Mick Delmage, AB, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** INTERNATINAL INTERNET. I just wanted to remind everyone here about
another Yahoo Group called "Radio Alternatives". You can take a look
at it, and join if you like, at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/radioalternatives
Here is the group description:
Do you find the choice of mainstream radio in your city or town to
be dull, predictable and lacking creativity? This group is about
alternatives. Members are encouraged to post information about their
alternate choices of radio stations and programming, be they over-
the-air, live streaming, satellite or on-line Internet only. Feel
free to introduce other members to favourite radio alternatives that
you listen to, describing what they have to offer and where they can
be found on the radio, via satellite, cable or over the Internet
(Sheldon Harvey, radiomontreal yg via DXLD)
** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. I was in Radio Shack today and saw a Sirius
radio in operation, and, even though I said I'd never purchase
something like that, now? I am thinking differently. (Especially with
NO country music in this area save 1 station in Philadelphia whose
format is country but its not easy to hear in central NJ). Here`s my
question --- would you recommend Sirius or XM? Is there a vast
difference? 73s (Bill Bergadano, swprograms via DXLD)
For a shortwave enthusiast -- there is no comparison. Sirius provides
vastly more diversity than XM. The only way I would recommend XM to a
shortwave enthusiast is if you want the "infotainment" BBCWS stream --
that's the one you hear on shortwave. That is the only real
international broadcasting radio you hear on XM.
As for Sirius, here are its international broadcasting offerings:
1. BBCWS -- "all news" feed
2. World Radio Network North America -- includes RCI, DW, RNW, CRI,
R. Sweden, R. Prague, R. Australia and a pile of others. See
http://www.wrn.org/listeners/schedules/schedule.php?ScheduleID=2
3. CBC programming on the "PRI World" channel. We've disucssed that
here the past several weeks: CBC Sunday Edition, As It Happens, Ideas,
DNTO, Dispatches. See the PRI World schedule here:
http://www.pri.org/PublicSite/listeners/sirius_schedule.html
4. If the CRTC gives its blessing: CBC Radio One will be available to
USA listeners.
Also -- Sirius, as part of the subscription, offers webcasts of all
its music streams. Most of the spoken-word streams are available
online elsewhere.
I would strongly recommend one of the "plug & play" models, because
that gives you the greatest variety of listening locations -- home,
car, work. My two cents (Rich Cuff, PA, ibid.)
Hi Bill: Since you're an SWL, there's no argument. Go with Sirius.
They carry WRN and soon will have CBC Radio One. They also have two
NPR streams and a PRI World stream that carries some CBC programming
already. The only "down side" is that the BBC stream is the all news
one. However, I find that when I listen to radio in the car, all BBC
streams are usually carrying news anyway. 73 (John Figliozzi, ibid.)
** IRAN. The following incredibly absurd item is about VOIRI`s QSL
policy, at least in Spanish. I`ve not seen this reported about their
English broadcasts. The writer qualifies it as ``an intelligent way to
get captive listeners`` --- well, only if they are rabid QSL hounds,
who just have to get every possible card (I can think of a couple
eligible guys). It`s easy to get the first QSL, but after that, just
one more report won`t do. The second one comes only after 10 more
reception reports --- and this keeps stepping up until you have to
send 200!!! to get the tenth one after the ninth one. After that they
start awarding diplomas, and when one thousand, seven hundred sixty-
seven reports have arrived [surely not 3767, a typo more than once
below], a ``very valuable`` but unspecified gift. Is anyone fool
enough to take them up on this?? Maybe the process can be automated!
How about a separate report for every minute of a one-hour broadcast
with an RMS? Not all individually in one P-mail each, I hope. What if
one --- just one --- report is lost in the P- or E-mail? This could
become a bone of contention? What if one report does not contain
verifiable, or even incorrect (wrong station) details? IRIB must have
an enormous bookkeeping staff standing by to handle this onslaught
(Glenn Hauser, Feb 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
SISTEMA DE CONFIRMAÇÕES DA IRIB
Caros amigos, A algum tempo atrás, em uma conversa com o Jornalista
Célio Romais, comentávamos sobre os métodos que algumas emissoras
utilizam para manter os ouvintes ligados ás suas transmissões. Nesta
conversa citamos diversas emissoras internacionais que trabalham de
maneira muito inteligente esta relação com seus ouvintes. O tema ficou
em minha mente e hoje eu me lembrei de mais uma emissora que utiliza
um excelente expediente para manter a ligação com sua audiência sempre
perene. Trata-se do serviço em espanhol da IRIB - La Voz de La
Republica Islâmica do Irã.
O sistema de confirmações de Informes de recepção, utilizado pela
emissora realiza este processo de maneira magistral pois é o seguinte:
Ao se enviar o primeiro informe de recepção para a emissora, eles
solicitam que este informe seja numerado como nº 01 pelo dexista e de
lá eles irão enviar o cartão QSL nº 01.
Á partir deste primeiro informe, a sistemática de confirmação será:
Para receber o QSL nº 02 o dexista deverá enviar 10 informes de
recepção numerados de 02 a 11.
Para receber o QSL nº 03 o dexista deverá enviar 20 informes de
recepção numerados de 12 a 32.
Para receber o QSL nº 04 o dexista deverá enviar 35 informes de
recepção numerados de 33 a 68.
Para receber o QSL nº 05 o dexista deverá enviar 50 informes de
recepção numerados de 69 a 119.
Para receber o QSL nº 06 o dexista deverá enviar 75 informes de
recepção numerados de 120 a 195.
Para receber o QSL nº 07 o dexista deverá enviar 105 informes de
recepção numerados de 196 a 301.
Para receber o QSL nº 08 o dexista deverá enviar 140 informes de
recepção numerados de 302 a 442.
Para receber o QSL nº 09 o dexista deverá enviar 170 informes de
recepção numerados de 443 a 613.
Para receber o QSL nº 10 o dexista deverá enviar 200 informes de
recepção numerados de 614 a 814.
Eles informam que todos os que atingirem o recebimento do cartão QSL
nº 10 receberão junto com ele um presente valioso do artezanato do
país.
Á partir de 200 informes enviados as confirmações passarão
a ser do seguinte modo:
250 informes enviados ( 815 a 1065) ....... Diploma do 3º Grau
300 informes enviados (1066 a 1366) ....... Diploma do 2º Grau
400 informes enviados (1367 a 3767) ....... Diploma do 1º Grau
[math is a bit off here: either the last entry is 2400 reports, or the
total is 1767 --- or rather 1766! After the first 10, all the
numbering is off, e.g. 20 reports should be numbered 12 thru 31, not
32, etc. Since all this is based on numbers, IRIB should at least get
the math right --- but hey, who`s counting? --- gh]
Após atingir o diploma do 1º Grau o ouvinte entra numa lista restrita
de ouvintes ativos, recebe uma identificação especial. Ao completar
500 informes enviados ele recebe um presente valiosíssimo segundo a
emissora.
Como vocês podem notar, um ouvinte, para atingir este laureu máximo da
emissora precisa apresentar 3767 [sic] informes de sintonia. A isso eu
considero uma maneira inteligente de manter a audiência cativa. Se
alguém estiver interessado no processo, eu informo que a IRIB é bem
copiada aqui no Brasil e ela tem o seguinte esquema de transmissões no
idioma espanhol:
HORA UTC khz DESTINO DA TRANSMISSÃO
0030-0130 9555, 9905 Centroamerica
0130-0230 9555, 9905 Sudamerica
0230-0330 9905 Sudamerica
0530-0630 15320, 17590 Europa
2030-2130 7130, 9750 España
O Endereço postal da emissora é: IRIB, Programa en Español, P. O. Box
19395, 6767 Teheran, Iran. O E-Mail é: spanishradio @ irib.com
Um abraço a todos, (Adalberto Marques de Azevedo, @tvidade DX Feb 6
via DXLD)
** ITALY. Hi Glenn; Looks like Rai is still on SW but I suspect some
transmitter problems there. 11880, Rai, at 2025 with IS and Sign-on in
English with News. Signal cutting in/out and causing a bad het with
Radio Australia also on 11880. Their signal is very unstable, 333 Feb
6/05
Yes, it seemed to worble, and the carrier continued to cut in and out.
I'll check the 2205 transmission and report back to you. Oh, no way I
can hear RAI now (2205) with Radio Japan there via French Guiana.
Sorry, I'll try later today.
[Later:] Hi Glenn, Rai on 11800 kHz is booming in here in Italian at
0050 UT and just went into English at 0055. Bright clean signal now.
73 (Mick Delmage, Sherwood Park, AB, UT Feb 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** JAPAN. 5428, 2.2 2210, NHK Mihara City med NHK2-programmet (från
Osaka) QSA 2. JE (Jan Edh, Sweden, SW Bulletin Feb 6 via DXLD)
** JORDAN. 11690, R. Jordan, 1701 news and press review in English,
then pop music. Usual RTTY QRM greatly attenuated at first, but
overwhelmed signal by 1719. Up 'til then excellent, 1/31 (John
Figliozzi, French Creek State Park, PA, Drake R8A, longwires, HCDX via
DXLD)
Radio Jordan, 11690 kHz (tune up to avoid RTTY) at 1700 UT in English
with 2 time pips, station ID, time check for 7 PM Jordan Time, 1700
UT. News Headlines followed by Main News, dominated by reports of the
upcoming Egyptian Summit. At 1710 a repeat of the News Headlines and
an e-mail address given. At 1711 the rather chilly weather forecast (2
to 6 C for Amman) for the country. At 1712, a Review of the Jordanian
Press. At 1719 an ID for Radio Jordan 96.3 FM, then pop music
including Hanna, Alberta's Nickleback. At 1730 a sign off announcement
for 11690 kHz then more western pop music. Finally pulls the plug at
1750. (444 Feb 6/05) (Mickey Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada,
Collins HF-2050, KLM 7-30 MHz Log Periodic, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** KOREA SOUTH. RKI GETS A NEW NAME
RKI has conducted a survey of all KBS employees in its search for new
station name following its merger with the overseas service TV channel
KBS World last Feb. RKI has announced to rename it to reflect new
stature and mission. In the survey a majority of those polled favoured
"KBS WORLD RADIO" among 10 options named. RKI will be moving ahead
with re-naming process by next week.
Meanwhile RKI will launch its 11th language service in Vietnamese from
March 3rd - the 79th anniversary of KBS the mother company of RKI.
From this day a 30 minutes long Vietnamese language program will be
broadcast on 9640 khz at 10 pm Vietnamese local time [1500 UT]
(Source: RKI Worldwide friendship program via Alokesh Gupta, New
Delhi, Feb 6, dxldyg via DXLD) As we predicted (gh)
** MEXICO. Here's an audio clip of XEJN Radio Huayacocotla that I
recorded off my DX398 in December last year:
http://www.gentoo.net/mike/radio/swl/audio/XEJN.mp3
(Mike Westfall, N6KUY, WDX6O, Los Alamos, NM (DM65uv) Online logbooks
at http://dxlogbook.gentoo.net DX-398 yg via DXLD)
** MEXICO. 1319.88, XECPN - COAH, Piedras Negras, 01FEB05, 0630-0643
CST [1230-1243 UT] with SS vocal music and "La Mexicana trece veinte",
at times on top of KXYZ and KYHN. This one should be easy to hear at
some distance since it is so far off frequency. Anyone futher north
notice the het or able to hear it? The het this throws on 1320 here in
Oklahoma makes listening on 1320 very tiring (Bruce Winkelman, AA5CO,
Tulsa, OK, R8, Quantum Phaser, 2-130 ft (+/-) wires, Corazón DX via
DXLD)
** NEW ZEALAND. Radio New Zealand International --- The Voice of New
Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific --- News About RNZI
RNZI Transmitter is off air --- 06 Feb, 2005 06:15 UT
The RNZI Transmitter failed at 1705 NZDT [0405 UT] and is off air due
to a technical fault. Technical staff have been called out to attend
to the problem. We regret the interruption to our short-wave service.
(rnzi.com via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** PARAGUAY. Viaje a Paraguay --- Tercera parte:
La experiencia de Radio América fue muy fuerte para nosotros. Arnaldo
y yo habíamos entrevistado a "una leyenda" de la onda corta; ambos
coincidimos que ese era el mejor apelativo para el Pastor José
Holowaty porque su voz ya era muy familiar en nuestros primeros años
de radioescuchas a través de KGEI La Voz de la Amistad en los 15280 y
9615 Khz. En el año 1976 Holowaty había sido invitado a Rosario para
participar de una predicación en la Iglesia Bautista de Arroyito; allí
estuve yo para verle por primera vez. A la salida de aquel evento le
pedí que me autografiara mi banderín amarillo de KGEI ilustrado con el
Golden Gate de San Francisco; ese mismo banderín de cartulina fue mi
"carta de presentación" para emocionar al Pastor 30 años después de
aquel encuentro. Holowaty tiene 70 años y su entusiasmo y devoción por
la onda corta siguen intactos.
La compañía de Adán Mur, Jefe Técnico y diseñador de los equipos y
antenas de Radio América, fue realmente un privilegio, a cada paso sus
explicaciones técnicas eran precisas y accesibles. Para Mur existen
tres problemas a resolver en la planta que tiene la emisora en
Villeta, el suministro irregular de energía proveniente de la central
hidroeléctrica de Itaipú para lo cual se instaló una línea nueva y dos
equipos generadores diesel (uno en Ñemby y otro en Villeta); las
feroces tormentas que se atribuyen a la presencia del Río Paraguay y
los pantanales, frecuentemente colapsan el tendido eléctrico
administrado por ANDE Administración Nacional de Electricidad o
producen averías en la misma planta pese al buen sistema de protección
(pararrayos) que no resulta suficiente y --- por último --- la envidia
de grupos religiosos foráneos que --- según Mur --- utilizan al
campesinado para oponerse al proyecto de Radio América a través de
actos de sabotajes (roban fusibles, producen cortocircuitos, etc) por
lo que se ha debido establecer una guardia armada durante las 24
horas, tanto en la planta de Villeta como en la sede de Ñemby.
En la opinión de Mur, Radio América no es broadcasting sino
narrowcasting, es decir, tiene un público selectivo. En ese sentido
justifica ampliamente la transmisión por onda corta (actualmente
inactiva) por cumplir un propósito que él considera "quirúrgico",
apelativo médico cuyo empleo --- en este caso --- nos llamó mucho la
atención. No hay que olvidar que Adán Mur originalmente es un
diexista; él trabaja con Holowaty desde los 14 años, en su tarea de
asesor y diseñador técnico --- incluso de docente --- lleva consigo la
vocación del DX y, para un diexista, la experimentación técnica
también suele ser una pasión.
En Paraguay hay 700.000 receptores de los cuales, según Mur, el 80%
tiene banda de onda corta; preferentemente quienes más escuchan
programas por OC son los campesinos. De los seis millones de
habitantes paraguayos, un millón reside en la zona metropolitana de
Asunción; los cinco millones restantes se distribuyen en las ciudades
menores pero la gran mayoría de ellos viven y trabajan en zonas
rurales.
De hecho, ZP20 Radio América tiene intenciones de captar la franja
selecta de oyentes de OC en Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay y Chile y la
pretensión es lograr un transmisor de 5 kilovatios; por razones de
propagación aún no están previstas las frecuencias a utilizar aunque
Mur considera a la banda de 41 metros como la más apropiada.
Nuestro itinerario continuó el sábado 22 de enero. Ese día creo que
batimos el record en caminata; pasamos por Emisoras Paraguay que, como
ya informara Arnaldo Slaen, "...otrora funcionó en la onda corta (6015
Khz) ... opera solamente en la frecuencia modulada, en los 106.1 MHz y
nada tiene que ver con la estación de onda media de los 1250 kHz
(Radio Asunción)". El único recuerdo que nos llevamos de ella fue su
tremendo cartel en la fachada (costó mucho enfocar nuestras cámaras) y
el frío aire acondicionado de su interior... en ese momento nadie pudo
atendernos por lo que continuamos a pie hasta Radio Ñandutí (1020
kHz), una de las más observadoras de cualquier gobierno de turno,
denunciando y cuestionando los problemas de la ciudad y del país, al
menos esa fue la impresión que nos dió cuando al ingresar y nos
propusieron salir al aire en el programa "Contacto Económico"
conducido por el periodista Osmar Apuril cada sábado de 11:30 a 13:00.
Nuestra manifiesta intención de investigar a la radio paraguaya --- en
especial para realizar artículos y colaborar con el programa "La
Rosa de Tokio" de LS11 R. Provincia de Buenos Aires --- desvió la
temática DX a cuestiones meramente periodísticas al punto que debimos
ofrecer nuestras opiniones incluso cuando los temas derivaban a la
problemática socio-económica de la sociedad paraguaya, no tan distinta
a la nuestra... Además, conocimos al Presidente del Banco Central de
Paraguay, Dr. Anibal Insfran, quien dialogó con Apuril acerca de la
necesidad de una mayor transparencia en las instituciones y un mayor
acercamiento de la banca oficial a la comunidad. ZP14 Radio Ñandutí
opera con un equipo Nautel PDM con 25 kW de potencia las 24 horas; su
planta transmisora está ubicada en San Lorenzo, pertenece al Grupo
Holding de Radio y su director es el conocido periodista Humberto
Rubín.
El periplo continuó con ZP4 Radio Uno (650 Khz) --- una emisora de
programación muy variada --- cuyo edificio tiene un amplio frente que
muestra la diversidad de medios gráficos que lo integran como el
Diario Popular, las revistas Multimedia y Dinero. Allí realizamos una
rápida entrevista a Rolando Pereyra, del equipo de producción de la
emisora, y participamos de un programa de humor en el que me distendí
contando algunos cuentos. "Sonríe Paraguay" es su nombre; sale al aire
los sábados de 13:00 a 15:00, y --- según Pereyra --- es un programa
totalmente de humor diferente (con doble sentido) de lo que
tradicionalmente se hace sobre el género en la AM y que apunta a
reforzar las actividades culturales de la capital. Carlos Vera es el
personaje central, imitador y humorista número uno de Paraguay en
radio y TV, acompañado de Chacho Taboada, un artista argentino
(chaqueño) pero ya "nacionalizado" por su familiaridad con los medios.
La planta transmisora de ZP4 se encuentra en Chacoi, al otro lado del
Río Paraguay, opera con un equipo Continental de 15 kW de potencia las
24 horas y su director es Diego Wasmosy.
La siguiente visita fue a ZP11 Radio Caritas (680 Khz) ubicada en el
predio del Seminario Metropolitano. Al entrar sólo vimos a un empleado
trabajando en un vidriado box donde realizaba ediciones con la
computadora. Bastó una seña mía para que interrumpiera su labor y nos
atendiera; su nombre es Oscar Rubén Cáceres Jiménez, es Licenciado e
integrante del Consejo Directivo de la radio en carácter ad hoc y
forma parte de la Dirección de formación de la Red Nacional de
Emisoras, que constituye un grupo de emisoras con transmisión a nivel
regional y nacional siendo ZP11 una de las fundadoras y sede del
centro operativo de dicha red.
Respecto a la misma, Cáceres dijo que está conformada en Asunción, por
Radio Caritas, en Teniente Irala Fernández, Chaco, por ZP17 Radio Pa'i
Puku (720 Khz) con 25 kW. de potencia, en Ayolas --- junto a la
provincia argentina de Misiones --- por ZP15 Radio San Roque González
de Santa Cruz (570 Khz) con 1 kW de potencia y en San Estanislao ---
Dep. de San Pedro --- ZP40 Radio Ñasaindy (620 Khz) con 5 kW.
Completan la nómina Radio Yvy Pyta del Departamento de Itapua, La Voz
del Este de Alto Paraná y Radio Bura Campana, además de quince radios
comunitarias en proceso de autorización. Al respecto descubrí en la
web una página muy interesante: http://www.rednace.org.py con acceso a
cada una de las mencionadas emisoras, sus objetivos y datos
específicos, realmente recomendable.
Radio Caritas se sostiene con la ayuda económica de la Universidad
Católica Nuestra Señora de la Asunción y está afiliada a la Asociación
Mundial de Radios Comunitarias, AMARC y a la Asociación
Latinoamericana de Educación Radiofónica, ALER. Radio Caritas se
define como una radio ciudadana, pluralista, con enfoque hacia el
desarrollo de la persona, de la familia y la sociedad. Transmite
programas educativos, informativos, religiosos y periodísticos basados
en la doctrina social de la Iglesia como un planteamiento transversal.
Su planta transmisora está ubicada a 15 kilómetros, en Ñemby, tiene
100 metros de altura utilizando un equipo Lensa de origen chileno con
12 kW. de potencia cubriendo totalmente el área metropolitana. Su
futuro plan es la transmisión satelital a través del aporte de ALER.
Continuará (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Rosario, ARGENTINA, Feb 6, DX
LISTENING DIGEST)
** PORTUGAL. Nesta quarta-feira, dia nove de fevereiro, a RDP
Internacional reativa o espaço ``Dexismo``, dentro da emissão que vai
ao ar, entre 0000 e 0300, em 11980 e 13770 kHz. A apresentação será de
Carlos Rebelo. Contatos pelo e-mail: carlosrebelo @ rdp.pt (Célio
Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX Feb 6 via DXLD)
So we`re supposed to listen for 3 hours to hear a 5- or 10-minute DX
segment? Used to be around 0030, I think (gh, DXLD)
** PORTUGAL. Re: Testes de monitorização automática de DRM em
Portugal. Caro João, peço desculpa pelo meu reparo. Que cabeça a
minha! É evidente que a estação de monitorização a instalar na Aldeia
dos Chãos não se destina a monitorar o emissor de Sines! Quando
escrevi a minha mensagem, encontrava-me muito cansado, depois de um
dia de trabalho muito intenso. Tinha o raciocínio embotado... Obrigado
pela paciência que teve em me responder. Boas escutas (Fernando de
Sousa Ribeiro, Porto, Portugal, radioescutas via DXLD)
** RUSSIA. ``Onda DX`` é um programa da Voz da Rússia dedicado aos
dexistas de língua portuguesa, levado ao ar, nas quartas-feiras, a
partir de 0050. Em dois de fevereiro, o espaço teve a sintonia do
Francisco Jackson dos Santos, de São Gonçalo (RJ). Na ocasião,
apresentaram um resumo sobre as ondas tropicais. A freqüência
monitorada foi 5900 kHz (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX Feb 6
via DXLD)
** SOMALIA. 6O --- Silvano, I2YSB, Andrea, IK1PMR, Marcello, IK2DIA,
Beppe, IK2WXV, and Riccardo, IZ5BRW, are working with two stations
signing 6O0CW on 160-6m 24 hours a day from Feb 3 to 17.Q SL via M5AAV
(bureau) or direct to I2YSB. Part of the equipment will be left in
Somalia for the local amateurs. Check also their homepage at:
http://www.i2ysb.com/6o (425 DX News via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD)
** SUDAN. 4750, R. Peace, 0401 local vocal music. Fair, 2/1 (John
Figliozzi, French Creek State Park, PA, Drake R8A, longwires, HCDX via
DXLD)
** SURINAME. 4990, R. Apintie, 0321 Elton John song and ID in Dutch
0325. Fair, 2/1. Heard as early as 2225 on 1/30 (John Figliozzi,
French Creek State Park, PA, Drake R8A, longwires, HCDX via DXLD)
0839 Feb 5, 4990, 44323, R. Apintie. Mujer cantando en estilo
operático en inglés. Transmision con interrupciones intermitentes y
rápidas (Alvin Mirabal, Puerto Rico, Icom IC-R71A, Antena de cercado
en alambre eslabonado, condiglist via DXLD)
** TAIWAN. "CIERRES Y DESPIDOS EN RADIO TAIWÁN INTERNACIONAL"
A través del programa "Veinte Minutos" de Radio Taiwán Internacional
emitido el pasado sábado 29 de enero, sus conductores --- Elena Chen y
Pablo Wang --- dedicaron el espacio con informaciones acerca de la
emisora incluyendo fragmentos de una entrevista con la Presidenta de
RTI, Cheryl Lai, quien declaró que "A partir del 31 de enero se
suspende la transmisión en cinco lenguas, a saber, birmano, mongol,
tibetano, árabe y coreano".
"Se trata de una decisión que la radio hizo hace poco para
reestructurar la emisora nacional de Taiwán", dijo Elena Chen. "Esta
reestructuración forma parte de un gran programa del Gobierno y de su
Oficina de Información y una de las principales metas es modernizar
la estructura de administración de Radio Taiwán Internacional,
realmente su nombre oficial es Sistema de Radiodifusión Central,
entonces esta nueva acción por parte de la Junta Directiva de la radio
consiste en suspender la transmisión de cinco lenguas" agregó Pablo
Wang.
Según los comentaristas, desde hace varios meses, alrededor de medio
año más o menos, se ha estado hablando de la reducción del personal
dentro de la radio y finalmente, el 20 de enero del presente año la
emisora dio a conocer el despido de 82 empleados. Aparentemente esta
sería la primera etapa que incluye el recorte de personal en los
departamentos administrativos y la suspensión de las secciones de
Birmano, Mongol, Tibetano, Árabe y Coreano.
"Bueno, como verán los amigos oyentes, estas cinco lenguas que han
sido suspendidas son básicamente lenguas de Asia... entonces se nota
que existe una cierta reestructuración también de la programación y
del enfoque de Radio Taiwán Internacional y hacia donde va a ser
proyectada la transmisión de nuestra emisora" dijo Pablo Wang.
La Presidenta de RTI Cheryl Lai expresó también su sincera disculpa a
los amigos radioescuchas de estas lenguas porque no es que estas
lenguas no hayan tenido un buen desempeño en estos últimos siete. En
una entrevista concedida a la Directora de la Sección Birmana, Cheryl
Lai explicó las razones de la drástica decisión tomada para poder
continuar ofreciendo programación para el resto del mundo.
"Actualmente transmitimos en 18 lenguas extranjeras; sin embargo en
los últimos años el presupuesto de la radio ha ido en reducción año
tras año. En un principio contábamos con un presupuesto anual de
9.000.000.000 de dólares taiwaneses y ha sido reducido al actual de
5.007.000.000 dólares taiwaneses y además de ello debemos recaudar 6 a
8 millones de dólares taiwaneses por año", dijo la Directora.
Básicamente los problemas son presupuestarios --- enfatizó Pablo
Wang --- y se están agravando año tras año. Esta decreciente suma de
dinero para RTI obliga a efectuar ciertas reestructuraciones. Pero
además, Radio Taiwán Internacional también fue crítica por parte de
algunos analistas y opiniones del espectro político en el sentido que
el personal de la radio es excesivo.
Actualmente trabajan poco menos de 500 personas. Por su parte Elena
Chen dijo que "la radio ha sido severamente criticada por muchos
sectores de Taiwán por contar con un personal altamente veterano".
Entonces esta primera oleada de reestructuración y de despido se ha
centrado en los empleados de mayor antigüedad. Es decir que, además de
las 5 lenguas, también han reducido el número del personal de los
departamentos de Contaduría, Relaciones Públicas y Administración y se
está especulando si es que habrá otra oleada.
Pero, a pesar que hay una reducción del personal en la radio, habrá
otro cambio inédito dentro de la emisora. "Aprovecho esta oportunidad
para anticiparles que partir del 1 de julio ofreceremos transmisiones
dentro del país; esto es un nuevo acontecimiento ya que nunca lo
habíamos hecho en el pasado. Las transmisiones serán en inglés,
japonés, indonesio, tailandés y vietnamita", dijo Cerril Lai. Las
razones que explican por qué se han seleccionado estas lenguas ---
según Chen --- en primer lugar porque en Taiwán existe una gran
comunidad inglesa y muchos taiwaneses dominan el inglés que es
considero primer idioma extranjero en el país. Existen lazos con Japón
y un cierto porcentaje de inmigrantes extranjeros en Taiwán son de
origen japonés. Además, Taiwán importa una gran cantidad de obreros
extranjeros, principalmente de Tailandia, Indonesia y Vietnam. Otra
razón de ofrecer emisiones dentro del país se debe a que la emisora --
- aunque es conocida en el extranjero --- no lo es dentro de Taiwán.
Noticias en chino y mandarín también serán transmitidas dentro de
Taiwán pero se conocerán estos planes en un futuro cercano.
Una tercera parte de la entrevista a Cheryl Lai consistió en buenas
noticias que, en realidad, tampoco afectan a los oyentes
hispanohablantes. Aunque se cierran las citadas lenguas, ella no
descarta la posibilidad de reanudar las secciones suspendidas si es
que RTI puede volver a contar con suficiente presupuesto. Al respecto
Wang recordó que en el pasado se había suspendido la emisión en idioma
coreano la que fue reactivada pocos años atrás. De acuerdo al análisis
de algunos artículos periodísticos, los taiwaneses tal vez están de
acuerdo con el cierre de algunas lenguas pero otros cuestionan la
eliminación del coreano y el árabe y esto se atribuye --- según Elena
Chen --- a la estrecha relación que últimamente existe entre Taiwán y
Corea del Sur habiéndose reanudado los vuelos directos entre ambos
países y hay un estrecho intercambio cultural, de música popular,
telenovelas, etc.
Finalmente existen posibilidades de incrementar las transmisiones
en el espectro digital, en su sitio web http://www.rti.org.tw y
transmitir en banda digital porque uno de los problemas que más encara
la radio es el costo que paga anualmente en la electricidad; entonces
si la radio puede digitalizar sus programaciones estaría ahorrando una
gran suma de dinero por año y proveyendo una mejor calidad de sonido.
"Para algunos diexistas empedernidos quizás sea un poco triste que se
tenga que cambiar de equipos, que la calidad de sonido sea tan buena
que ya no parezca estar a la distancia pero para algunos jóvenes que
recién empiezan a tomar esta afición quizás sea buena noticia que la
calidad de música que pasamos en Radio Taiwán Internacional pueda ser
mejor de la que usted está escuchando ahora mismo en frecuencia
análoga o sobre la página Web en una calidad demasiado comprimida, la
digitalización es un camino inexorable que se tiene que recorrer y
esto significa una fuerte inversión que la radio tendrá que hacer",
dijo Pablo Wang.
La emisora espera recibir los comentarios de los oyentes sobre
estas novedades a P. O. Box 24-38 Taipei, Taiwán 106, República de
China y también al E-mail: rti@rti.org.tw (Rubén Guillermo Margenet,
Argentina, Feb 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
** TAIWAN. Fu Hsing Broadcasting Service, Taipei is now broadcasting
their "3rd program" in Chinese on shortwave. The frequency is 15250
kHz. According to research by Shigeyuki Aoki of NDXC, the schedules
are 2300-0100, 0400-0600, 0800-1000, 1300-1500. There is no mention
about this shortwave broadcast in their web site
http://www.fhbs.com.tw but the shortwave program contents are the same
as their online "3rd program" broadcast (MS Media Player format)
provided in the web. The shortwave broadcast is 1 second ahead of
webcast! Probably for Chinese mainland, but China does not jam this
broadcast (Takahito Akabayashi, Tokyo, Japan, Feb 6, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** TAJIKISTAN. 4635, Tajik Radio, Jan 30, 0159.5 to 0245. Heard here
with armchair quality signals with man and woman alternating with what
sounded like dramatic reading with short Tajik stringed instrumental
music between announcements 0200.5-0224.5, followed by Tajik
indigenous music to 0226, Arabic vocal/instrumental music to 0628.
First time heard Arabic music here. Dramatic reading was probably a
story of some type - Central Asians are great storytellers. At 0230 ID
by woman as "Inja Dushanbe" after a 1-min pause. There was also a 30-
sec pause prior to an ID at 0200. SINPO 45544 but P became 3 after
0220 as fading became more pronounced. As the days have lengthened
this station has gradually changed its peak from 0130 to 0200 and is
in good shape until at least 0245 (Bruce W. Churchill, Fallbrook CA,
Jihad DX via Rus-DX via DXLD)
** TANGIER. Several stations had facilities of their own. One of the
stations closing down on Oct 29 1956 when Tangier lost its
international status was Pan American Radio. They were on MW, same
channel as Hörby, and sw 7290. According to their printed schedules
and illustrated pamphlets, they regularly received reception report
from all over the world to their offices at the Pan American Building,
16, Delacroix, in Tangier. They had regularly scheduled programs in
Spanish, English, French, Italian, Arabic and Hindu. I have a QSL from
1955.
In 1955 some receiver manufacturers, such as the Swedish Philips and
Dux companies were conducting test transmissions from Tangier under
the auspices of a company called Intercontinental Radio Company S.A.
The idea was to start commercial programing from Tangier. Shortwave
listening in Sweden was seething at the time, with tens of thousands
of people regularly tuning in to foreign stations while the sole
national network, the state owned non-commercial Radiotjänst, was
having a break (2 hours in the morning, 2 hours in the afternoon and
also from 2230 to 0600). Finally a few religious broadcasters, notably
Ibra Radio, started broadcasts from Tangier.
They were refused the right to operate from Swedish soil. The Swedish
government subsequently tried to stop their broadcasts from Tangier by
withholding the funds Ibra Radio were sending to Tangier to build
their premises. It was illegal to export this money, about 2M Sw.
Crowns of the day, the government said. The banning attempt was
thwarted by the members of the pentecostal church who started to send
small individual contributions by mail to Morocco. The Moroccans had
to open a special post office to take care of all these postal money
orders. The activities of Ibra Radio, Norea Radio, The Voice of
Tangier (WTAN) and the VOA continued some time after Tangier lost its
international status. But in Sweden the Swedish monopoly stayed put.
Only in the early 60´s, in an answer to pirate broadcasters Radio Nord
and Radio Syd (also banned), Swedish radio listeners could enjoy a
national music channel. For political reasons, commercial or community
radio in Sweden would remain banned for many more years.
Some of the stations mentioned, including Pan American Radio, are
listed in the 1960 edition of the WRH, but according to
http://www.portalmundos.com/mundoradio/historia/decada50.htm they were
not on the air at the time. At
http://www.ctv.es/USERS/josemolina/pagina13.htm one can see a couple
of old adverts and a few station names. Among other Moroccans were
Radio Dersa, Tetuán (Spanish Morocco) and the US Navy and Air Force
stations at Fort Lyautey, Kenitra and Nouasseur, all of which were
rather commonplace on MW at the end of the 50´s (Henrik Klemetz,
Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Tnx to Wolfgang Büschel for sending some
scans of WRH Tangier pages back to 1953y! (gh, DXLD)
** UGANDA. 4976, R. Uganda, Kampala, 0312 Sinead O'Connor single, then
man in English. Better signal at 0400 news in English. Strong signal
marred by poor modulation or other QRN/QRM. Poor 2/1 (John Figliozzi,
French Creek State Park, PA, HCDX via DXLD)
** U K. The permanent replacement for late DJ John Peel's BBC Radio 1
show goes on air on Tuesday, with three hosts chosen to fill the
legendary presenter's slot. Rock DJ Huw Stephens will go on air in the
2300 slot every Tuesday, with black music champion Ras Kwame on
Wednesdays and dance DJ Rob Da Bank on Thursdays. Rob Da Bank filled
in after Peel had a heart attack aged 65 in October.
All three will play "diverse, unpredictable and non-commercial" songs
under the banner of the OneMusic show. Radio 1 said the station was
not trying to replace Peel, but would rise to the "challenge" of
"keeping his legacy alive" with unpredictable music. The three DJs
were chosen for their "in-depth musical knowledge across a variety of
musical genres", the station said. Rob Da Bank is one of the hosts of
The Blue Room, an early morning weekend show which plays electronic
and dance music. Huw Stephens has been one half of the Thursday night
show Bethan and Huw in Wales, which explores new music, especially up-
and-coming acts in Wales. And Ras Kwame is host of 100% Homegrown on
Radio 1's digital station 1Xtra, dedicated to showcasing the best hip-
hop and garage.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4225615.stm
(via Mike Terry, Feb 6, BDXC-UK via DXLD)
** U S A. From 1995 to 2002, I was producer and presenter of
Communications World, a weekly VOA English program about developments
in international broadcasting and the electronic media. From the fall
of 1998 through early 2002, Communications World scripts were
available at trsc.com, site of my web mentor Tom Sundstrom. Thanks to
Tom for providing this service. The scripts have now moved to my
site... http://www.kimandrewelliott.com/cw_scripts.html
(Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott, http://www.kimandrewelliott.com via John
Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD)
** U S A [and non]. ALMOST, BUT NOT QUITE, ENTIRELY UNLIKE NEWS.
Pentagon funding of information websites for Southeast Europe and the
Maghreb is not revealed on the home pages, but is stated when you
click "About Us." AP via Columbia (Missouri) Daily Tribune, 5 February
2005 http://www.columbiatribune.com/2005/Feb/20050205News011.asp
Southeast European Times http://www.setimes.com/ is in Albanian,
Bulgarian, Croatian, English, Greek, Macedonian, Romanian, Serbian,
and Turkish. Magharebia
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/homepage/ is in
Arabic, English, and French. PR functions notwithstanding, these sites
have useful material, e.g. links (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD)
** U S A. 15385, KJES (Our Lady's Youth Center), Vado, NM, 33433,
English. A beautiful rendition of "Ave Maria" by a female singer,
fading into another slow worship song with guitar and male vocalist.
OM recited some scripture while the music continued. I think this
music may have been "live". Some light QRM that sounded like a
"digital data stream". 2000 Program switched to Spanish. 1936 UT Feb 5
(Phil KO6BB Atchley, Merced CA, swl at qth.net via DXLD)
** U S A. Caught Tim WA1HLR and others from up and down the east coast
on 3885 with an awesome signal. Characteristic belches and other
noises from Tim. We heard him sing a lullaby with his nose at 0230
(RFMA Feb 1 via DXLD)
** U S A. Texas Liberal Talk --- KCCT 1150 AM is becoming an Air
America Radio affiliate starting next Tuesday (Feb. 8). More in this
article [registration required] (scroll about half way down) in
today's Corpus Christi Caller Times.
In my Jan. 28 post on the News/Talk board I wondered if KEYS was going
to be the Air America Radio affiliate in Corpus Christi because the
KEYS Web site simply says "Coming Soon!" (robmidmi, Feb 1, Texas
Radio-info board via DXLD)
I think that Liberal or Progressive Talk would fare well in the large
Texas Cities. It won't be number one, but it could pull some decent
ratings. The sterotype of most Texans' and the large Texas cities are
way off base. If a decent frequency could be found in Houston,
Progressive Talk would be a welcome alternative to the four
Conservative Talk stations the city already has: KSEV 700, KTRH 740,
KPRC 950 and KNTH 1070. Luckily Houston has a Pacifica outlet KPFT
90.1 that is a very Progressive Station and does provide Houston with
Liberal/Progressive Talk, but there would be room for a second station
with a network like Air America. There is also Hot Talk in Houston on
650 and Business News-Talk on 1320. Austin is a city that I'm
surprised doesn't already have Air America, unless it has the same
problem as Houston, lack of a station to broadcast from. If AAR would
work in Corpus, it should work in San Antonio and it should do fair in
the D/FW metroplex (Mike Oswald, Houston, ibid.)
** U S A. Channel 6 Sound Broadcasting http://www.recnet.com/channel6/
REC feels that now is the time for the community radio movement to
consider the expansion of the FM broadcast band include the spectrum
that is currently TV Channel 6 (82-88 MHz).
Overview
When the FCC approved digital television, they granted all full power
TV stations a "transition" channel. This was a second channel that all
stations can use to construct their digital facilities. At the end of
the digital transition, TV stations will be required to relinquish one
of these two channels. In a separate proceedng, Congress had
reallocated TV Channels 52-69 to commercial and public safety wireless
interests. The remaining channels 2-51 are now referred to as the
"core" channels. At the end of the transition, all TV stations will
need to operate on Channels 2 through 51.
Channel Elections
The FCC is currently asking all full power television stations to
state which channel they would like to keep after the transition. This
Channel Election process is being done in several rounds:
Round 1 is limited to TV stations that have their primary channel
and/or their transition channel within the core (2-51) channels.
Stations eligible for round 1 may defer to round 2 (stations that
would want to do this are those who have an undesirable NTSC channel
(such as 2-6) and a DTV transition channel outside the core.
Round 2 is for those stations that have both of their channels outside
the core. Stations that did not make a channel choice in Round 1 can
also elect in this round.
Round 3 is a last chance for any station that did not elect in the
previous two rounds to make their choice.
Why is Channel 6 better for FM radio?
The main reason is desirability for the channel to be used for DTV. In
many markets, since there were so many VHF stations on the dial, the
only place where transition channels could be placed is in the UHF
spectrum. Since these stations have already made a big investment in
their DTV facilities on UHF, it would not make a lot of sense to
completely remove their DTV facilities on UHF and build new DTV
facilities on VHF. Also, due to the propagation characteristics of the
low band VHF TV channels (2-6), DTV is not desirable on these channels
due to its lack of tolerance to noise, etc.
Also, if one broadcaster decides to move their DTV facilities to VHF
while all of the competing stations in the market are on UHF, it puts
the VHF DTV station at a competitive disadvantage. DTV channel 6
stations would be required to protect non-commercial educational FM
stations operating on 88-92 MHz (because of this requirement, the FCC
did not allocate DTV Channel 6 to many communities) The most important
reason is that the 30 FM channels that could be created out of the
Channel 6 spectrum could hold a potential of thousands of new non-
commercial community broadcast stations versus a small number of full
power and low power TV stations.
What can we do?
REC will be very closely watching the Channel Election process. This
is a good time to start going to your Senator and Representatives and
urge them to start legislation that would remove TV Channel 6 from the
core TV spectrum and reallocate it for low and medium (up to 1000w in
rural areas) local non-commercial FM broadcasting. Localism in
broadcasting and the domination of the media by large corporations is
big news right now and may be a factor in future election campaigns.
Now is a good time to assure a future for community radio.
Why support a band that no one makes radios for?
While it is true that the availability of an FM receiver that picks up
82.1 through 87.9 is scarce right now, it is possible that in the
future the consumer electronics industry, either voluntarily or
through legislation makes FM tuners for 82-88 MHz available in the
United States. In Japan, the FM broadcast band spans from 76-92 MHz
(Channels 5 & 6 in the USA), therefore the technology to make a radio
that tunes down to 82 MHz is already available.
What about Channel 5 (76-82 MHz)?
REC will be watching elections of DTV Channel 5. Even though Channel 5
is a less desirable low band VHF TV channel, it is more desirable than
Channel 6 due to the fact that there are no required protections to
NCE-FM stations. REC feels that LPFM stations operating in the lower
portion of Channel 6 would be willing to accept any interference from
DTV Channel 5. In the worse case scenario, some of the lower Channel 6
spectrum channels (we are thinking 82.0-84.5) would not be available
in communities where there is a DTV Channel 5
Channel Election Status
Round 1 In Progress!
NTSC Channel 6 Stations 60
Elected to stay on Ch. 6 1
Selected another channel 11
Deferred to next round 4
Stations remaining to elect 44
The following stations elected to keep Channel 6 for their DTV
operations: KRMA - Denver, CO (PBS)
Ch. 6-FM Supporters --- The following organizations have spoken in
favor of FM sound broadcasting in the Channel 6 spectrum:
NFCB, NPR, REC Networks (via John Broomall, WTFDA via DXLD)
** U S A. FINALLY A GOOD MUSIC STATION IN SANTA FE!
Hey, I'm excited to announce Santa Fe's newest radio station, KWRP
Santa Fe 101.5 FM. Realtime updating of the playlist on the website
too. This is really great, they are playing doowop, bluegrass, gospel.
oldtime twangy stuff, a whole passel of music really! Even some pop.
And all that without advertizing! Read the Albuquerque Journal report
for more details (Gnarlodious, 01/16/05 05:41 PM, New Mexico radio-
info board via DXLD) Viz.:
MUSIC'S TOPS AT NEW RADIO STATION
By Emily Crawford, Journal Staff Writer, Monday, January 3, 2005
http://abqjournal.com/santafe/282321north_news01-03-05.htm
A new radio station has added a unique sound to the dial, causing a
stir not so much for what it is but for what it isn't. KWRP-FM 101.5
does not feature a talk show, disc jockeys, advertisements or special
10-song-in-a-row segments. The station doesn't even have a format— it
cannot be pegged as a country, alternative, smooth jazz or classic
rock station.
What KWRP does have is an eclectic, free-format music program nearly
every minute of every day. How rare this is becomes apparent after
listening for several minutes. Where are the call-letter jingles, the
DJ with prizes to offer, the "zero down and no payments until 2006"
commercials?
Ears that were braced for the onslaught and a finger ready to hit the
scan button gradually relax. Instead, anticipation builds as the
listener begins to wonder what the station will play next.
Steve Bumpous, 56, and his wife, Kathleen Brandon, 53, are banking on
their belief that listeners won't change the station when they come
across KWRP for the first time. Their philosophy for running the
station often flies in the face of conventional radio wisdom. Brandon,
a nurse for 28 years, has "zero experience" in the medium, and
Bumpous, a radio engineer, has never wanted to be on the air.
The couple splits the duties of running the station and tries to keep
things simple. Brandon is the station's music director, and Bumpous is
the station's general manager and engineer. The two keep themselves
off the air as much as possible. "People don't want to hear me
talking. They want to hear music," Bumpous said.
At Wild Mountain Outfitters on St. Michael's Drive, the station is
played most of the day, "mainly because there is no commercials," said
Ivy Reed, a sales associate there. Reed and the owners of the store,
Jon and Janet Asher, also appreciate the bluegrass KWRP plays, a genre
not typically found on other local stations. For Reed, it is also a
relief "not to have the obnoxious car commercials every five minutes
screaming at you."
Bumpous and Brandon's goal is to have fun, play music and make a
living doing what they do at KWRP, the couple said in an interview at
their tiny studio off Cerrillos Road. "We play a wide variety of
music; we play a lot of music you won't hear on a commercial radio
station," Bumpous said.
Though listeners appreciate the constant flow of music from the
station, the couple recognizes the need for advertising revenue.
Bumpous plans to keep the music coming by signing on advertisers who
will sponsor an hour of music at a time.
Bumpous hopes that will be attractive to advertisers who want to stand
out from the crowd, rather than having a 30-second spot "smashed" in
with several other advertisers in a five-minute commercial break.
He also hopes this method will keep his listeners tuned in. "We don't
want to smack you with eight minutes of commercials every hour," he
said. "We want to preserve the large amount of music we are playing."
The station has a low-key Web site that listeners can visit to see a
brief playlist http://www.KWRP-101.5 another way Bumpous avoids going
on the air. A recent playlist featured such artists as Joss Stone,
John Lennon, REM, Townes Van Zandt and Patty Griffin. Blues, folk,
modern rock and country are all mixed together at KWRP, but it's safe
to say listeners will never hear screaming guitars and heavy drum
solos on 101.5.
This is because Brandon only plays what she likes, especially since
she and Bumpous have to listen to the music all day, every day at the
station. As the station's music director, Brandon spends her days
programming the next day's song rotation. She uses the computer at the
station that has some 7,000 to 8,000 songs on it. The songs have been
collected by the couple over the years and feature many Austin
artists, though only 2,000 or so of the songs are in the programming
mix.
Brandon solicits suggestions from listeners and is constantly looking
for new music to buy. She is open to anything she finds pleasing to
the ear. "It's not like it has to fit into a format because we don't
have a format," she said.
Bumpous owned a partial interest in KWRP, which is licensed in Pecos,
for a couple of years with a business partner. Earlier this year, he
and his partner split their business holdings, and Bumpous became the
sole owner of KWRP. The couple moved from Austin to Santa Fe in May to
get the station off the ground. KWRP went live the first week of
November.
Bumpous and Brandon's unconventional approach extends to their
business strategy, too. So far, they are relying on word of mouth from
listeners to promote the station. This is partially because sales and
promotion are not the couple's strong suit but also because they are
uninterested in the ego part of the media business, they say.
"We're just simple people without an agenda," Bumpous said. Promoting
themselves "would take the fun out of it." Copyright 2005 Albuquerque
Journal (via DXLD)
** U S A. Superbowl Commercials: Going to blog the commericals via the
commerical pods (which is tv talk for spot sets). I'll watch and then
you'll get to know what I think. Coming in about an hour
If you miss them or want to see the ads again go here
http://dyn.ifilm.com/superbowlads/
1st pod: Ford, not a bad spot, always like the classic mustang I owned
a red 67 that I had for six years.
2nd pod Nothing memorable here
3nd Pod So far the best two spots FedEx and Volvo. Quick try the web
site
Worst SPOT: GO DADDY
Worst Beer Spots: Bud Light, both of em. Retire Cedric
And here are the ads you won`t see:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=ads/050107
(Lou Josephs blog via DXLD)
** VATICAN [and non]. It's that time when all the curia watchers start
taking bets on when the pope dies who will be the next pope. For you
to listen in check this site
http://www.vaticanradio.org/inglese/105/en_information.html
Fm 105-5 is the live really awful MOR program that Vatican Radio does
for the local audiences in Rome. You'll hear needle drop on records.
RECORDS you read that right. NO CD's or MP 3's play here.
The shortwave service is also available from this site. SW does still
beam to North America. And in this age of instant news, this is one of
the last places the folks at FOX or MSNBC or even CNN will look to
find out what's going on. It's also the best. If you tune in and hear
somber music, that will clue you in.
If you speak Italian you might check any one of these national radio
stations in Rome http://www.rai.it/ There is an English service but
it's not worth your time even to try to find it on the site (Lou
Josephs blog, Feb 2, via DXLD)
** VATICAN. YOU DON'T NEED TO BE CATHOLIC TO WORK FOR VATICAN RADIO.
But it helps. Director of Vatican Radio English Service describes the
74 year old station.
. . . I’ve been here for the past 28 years (one of my first tasks was
to provide the radio commentary for the funeral of Pope Paul VI). And,
no, I’m not a priest (although I frequently get mail addressed to
Father, or even Monsignor, Seàn Patrick Lovett). Actually out of the
400 people who work here, only 10% are religious (i.e. priests or
nuns) and a quarter of the staff are women (which often comes as
something of a surprise to those who think of the Vatican as a ``male-
dominated institution``). . . .
http://www.ebu.ch/en/union/diffusion_on_line/radio/tcm_6-34949.php
(EBU Diffusion Online, 2 February via kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD)
** VENEZUELA [non]. Sun Feb 6, no sign of ``Alo, Presidente`` at 1500
UT check: no signal on any of the three Habana frequencies used the
previous weeks, 11875, 13750, 17750. Nor anything from RHC itself on
11760 in scheduled Esperanto, so the whole plant may have been down in
Cuba. Still nothing at 1630 recheck (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING
DIGEST)
** ZIMBABWE. 3306, ZBC Gwere with local African music, pops and male
announcer in either Shone or Ndebele through very heavy noise on
frequency. Listened in LSB. Poor 1/31 (John Figliozzi, French Creek
State Park, PA, Drake R8A, longwires, HCDX via DXLD)
UNIDENTIFIED. Hi Glenn, I wondered if you had looked at my 780 UNID
audio clip? Are you aware of a Radio Luz opening on 780? Any help
appreciated.
http://www.geocities.com/barry.davies25@btopenworld.com/mypage.html
73's (Barry Davies, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
Barry, About the only useful info I can make out is just after the ID,
a timecheck for 11:55 (?). At first I thought it was 8:55 (ocho vs.
once, sound very much alike), but 8:55 would put it in the UT -10
zone, quite unlikely. So if it`s 11:55 that would be in the UT -7
zone. That would certainly narrow it down, to western Mexico or MST
zone in US. But there is only one US 780 station in that zone, KAZM in
Sedona AZ, and the current NRC Log has them in English ``The Chasm``.
And in WRTH 2005 I do not find any Mexicans in that zone, tho there
are several elsewhere in the country. Assuming the timecheck is
correct, this must be something new. Need to check out other Mexican
lists online. 73, Glenn
[Later:] Barry, And then I did check the other online lists via
http://www.amfmdx.net/amdx/corazondx.html
Still no luck, checking BCS, Sinaloa, Sonora, Nayarit, for 780
stations. KOMEX has only one R. Luz in the whole country, Chihuahua on
1040 (Glenn to Barry, via DXLD)
UNIDENTIFIED. 3935, 1041-1104, Feb 6, Very weak instrumental/classical
music under static. Possible pips at 1100 followed by talks quickly
overtaken by USB chatter. Very poor. I've never logged anything here
in the morning but amateur radio pile-ups. R. Reading-NZ perhaps?
(Scott R. Barbour Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverage antennas,
dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)
UNIDENTIFIED. 15000 --- Several FRN reporters have reported hearing
something under WWV lately. It's been reported as someone saying
"Herman" or Yosemite Sam saying "Varmint". Sounds more like Pee Wee
Herman to me and can't quite make out the word. It occurs before the
minute, and sounds like a single word. 2254-2300+, 31-Jan 20000 not
audible; strong buzz on 10000 & didn't hear it on 5000 (Harold Frodge,
MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM
+++++++++++++++++++++
YES, SAH!
I've seen references to measuring SAH's over the years in print and in
online forums such as this. I believe Gordon Nelson was able to
measure SAH's on TA signals many years ago. Can Glenn or someone else
with this expertise explain how it's done??!! I seem to remember
previous discussions here about Argo software measuring the SAH
"electronically"....how does one do it "by ear"? (Bruce Winkelman,
AA5CO, Tulsa, OK R8, Quantum Phaser 2-130 foot (+/-) wires, NRC-AM via
DXLD)
You really can't 'measure' by ear. You can 'detect', however. When you
hear two stations beating on a frequency, that's indicative of an SAH.
The frequency of the beat is in fact the frequency of the difference
between the two frequencies -- but only if there are only two. If
there are more, you need some electronics. GPN used to use a modified
oscilloscope - and if Ray Moore is paying attention here, I'm sure he
can offer more detail. Gordon advanced the idea that one could engage
in Precision Frequency Analysis and determine which stations was which
based on the unique frequency signature. At the time there was some
heated discussion about 'seeing DX' rather than hearing it, and I
suspect that would also be true today. I still have my Heath SB620
Spectrum Analyzer which can be used to view these. I never determined
whether I could measure with it. Bill Harms uses software, which I've
leave him to describe (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA (15 mi NNW
Philadelphia), ibid.)
All DXers have heard SAHs (sub-audible hets) but many DXers are not
aware of what they are. If you have two stations close together in
frequency, but the signal strengths vary in a regular pattern, you
likely are hearing an SAH. The frequency of an SAH is the difference
between the frequencies of the carriers when they are beating against
each other and you can determine the frequency of the SAH (or the
frequency difference of the carriers) by determining the frequency the
signals seem to vary in strength. One of the ways you can use this to
your advantage if you hear only a strong signal, but the signal
strength varies in long regular fades. That means there is another
signal present and you have another target to pursue.
Yes, there are various ways of measuring. I use a wave trace from my
recording program Blaze Audio, the wave trace on receiver controlling
program ERGO4, and the waterfall display from Spectrum Lab to see
them. One time, I measured a 40 second long (or 0.025 hz) SAH by
looking at the audio trace from a clip. I have a cool image of the
clip, and perhaps the clip itself. I just might post the image. I have
been thinking about writing an article on this subject because it
effects all MW and SW DXers. Maybe I will find the time this summer
after the DX season is over. I have no formal training on this
subject, but a passionate interest (Bill Harms, Elkridge, Maryland,
ibid.)
Does this technique require a receiver which has computer-control
capabilities like the R8B ? Or would it work with 'hollow state'
receivers? (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.)
Russ: It works from the sound card. So all you have to do is get your
sound source to your computer's sound card. With the spectrum analyzer
program you have to tune to an offset, conventionally 1 khz from the
main frequency. You can refer to Mark Hattam's article on the subject
(with a web search). With the other programs you just tune right to
the main frequency.
Okay, here is the image of the 40 second long het I said I would post.
For just a word or two of explanation, this was recorded on 560 a
couple of months ago and the strongest signal was from WFIL, and I am
not sure who the others are. You can clearly see the SAH by looking at
how the amplitude of the wave form as it varies over a 40 second long
interval. That corresponded to the length of time of the long fade I
heard at the same time. Enjoy!
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/billqsl/sounds/40_sec_long_het.jpg
(Bill Harms, Elkridge, Maryland, Feb 6, ibid.)
Here`s my method for ``measuring`` subaudible heterodynes, as in the
two instances just reported.
1) If in motion, be sure companion is at the wheel.
2) Turn on dome light, if watch light does not funxion.
3) Start counting the fades and note the seconds reading on the watch.
4) After 60 seconds, note the number of fades in that period.
5) That is cycles per minute; divide by 60 for Hz.
6) If that gets too tedious, count for only 15 seconds, multiply by 4
for c/min or divide by 15 for c/sec. Of course, you will get a more
accurate reading, the longer the period.
7) Turn off the annoying dome light. All the way off.
8) Retune radio to a station without the annoying SAH.
9) This can also be done in a fixed position by skipping steps 1, 2, 7
and perhaps 8. 73, (Glenn Hauser, NRC-AM via DXLD)
I use SAH constantly to assess the general status of propagation.
E.g., thisaft around 0200 EST, sitting in a store parking lot
listening to the car radio, I band-scanned 1610-1710. My QTH is SW PA.
It was interesting, as always: 1610 is TIS-land and had about a 30-40
Hz het, plus 2 SAHs of maybe 4/sec and 8/sec. (I just estimate
beats/sec. It helps if you count time musically --- tap your foot &
count thousand-one, thousand-two to establish a 1-sec baseline, then
try to count the beats between your foottaps...crude, but ballpark.)
1620 dead. 1630 had our 20-mile-distant TIS, plus a slow SAH, maybe
2/sec. 1640, surprisingly, had a 5/sec SAH, meaning the WI station &
??? If I had time I'd explore w/the 7600 but I'm working today. 1650
weak audio from the VA station. 1660 had a 3/sec SAH, meaning prob NC
& GA. 1670 dead. 1680 audio from NJ. 1690 very strong SAH of 4-5/sec,
prob VA & IL mixing. 1700, 1710 dead. Seat-of-the-pants metrics, but
interesting. (Fred Schroyer, Freelance Science Writer / Editorial
Consultant 955 Sixth Street - Waynesburg, PA 15370, ibid.)
I was one of those who have been around long enough to have seen GPN's
original setup in his 3rd floor apt. on Irma Ave in Watertown MA. What
he did technically was to bring out the AGC buss from the receiver, I
think he did a little bit of buffering and conditioning. The
oscilloscope was a garden variety Dumont 304 which was necessary as
the vertical amplifier was DC-coupled. This just meant that it would
accurately reproduce level variations of only a few Hz. He also used
one with a 5DEP7 CRT, the -7 was for long persistance phosphor, so you
could see the trace at very low horiz. sweep rates. Today one would
use a storage scope. (typical CRT phosphors were a -1 (fast green) and
-4 (fast white) and the -7 were not very common. This may be the mod,
along with AGC, that Russ speaks of.
As others have explained, the value of a SAH measurement is to measure
the difference between two carriers. F. ex. if you have 650.002 kHz
and 650.010 kHz the difference is 8 Hz. Two carriers at 650.015 and
650.023 would ALSO give a difference of 8 Hz. We can see that some
sort of reference is needed, and Gordon used a BC-221 signal generator
to provide the reference.
This works best when there are just two carriers present and there is
just a single sine wave evident, and ideally the two signals should be
reasonably similar in strength. There is no good way to audibly tell
which is the higher, and which is the lower, in frequency, unless your
reference is very accurate. You can tune the reference to zero-beat
each in turn, to see what each one's actual frequency is.
You can try looping the signals, and see which one nulls, while being
zerobeat by the reference. This is a little bit of an art form to do
with any precision.
If there is a good beat of several Hz, you can approximate the actual
offset by counting the audible beats, which will have something is a
"whish-whish" sound, for 10 seconds while watching the sweep second
hand of a watch. You might get say 20 or 30 in 10 seconds, which of
course is 2 or 3 Hz difference, and this is just too unreliable to try
to measure in 1 second. For even greater accuracy, use a sample window
of 100 seconds (1:40) and divide the count by 100.
The application that GPN used this for was to identify weak European
signals, and an essential part of this was his then access to
measurement information published by the European Broadcast Union.
They put out a monthly tabulation of all the intercepts made by the
six EBU monitoring stations. Two that I recall were sited at Jurbise
(Belgium) and Tatsfield (UK) and another was in Finland. Occasionally
NA stations like WINS-1010, WNEW-1130 would be recorded by the
monitors, and the resolution was to 0.1 Hz. During that time,
commercially available synthesizers such as Rohde and Schwarz, or
Schomandl, would allow such precision. We had two Schomandl's at the
ITT site in the 1980's. These were enormously expensive then.
If a monitor report showed a loud TA say Portugal on 1034.000 and
Guinea-Bissau on 1034.018, and over here, one would be listening to
Portugal with a 18 Hz SAH on the signal, that would be presumptive
that some trace of Guinea-Bissau was present, and merited further
work. However if Portugal was a "clean" signal, then you would move on
to another channel. The SAH technique had a lot less value with out
access to the "ee-boo" data. GPN had a connection to access it, of
whatever sort I never learned.
Back in the 1960's often you had channels with only a few signals
present and this technique was possible. Today with many signals
present. a technique called fourier analysis can sort the jumbled
waveform into discrete signals, but today is done by analyzing audio
beat tones of the carriers in SSB mode, but identifying each signal is
much more complicated. Some of you remember last year's situation when
KFI has a slow variation in their carrier frequency, which showed up
on such traces. You could definitely show that KFI signal was present
even though none of its audio could be identified in the jumble.
(reference "Argo")
Gordon had a favorite "show-off" situation. He would tune in the weak
daytime signal from the MIT carrier current station WTBS-640 ("witty-
buss") which was several miles away, and show the offset with the weak
daytime CBN signal, probably 10 or 15 Hz different, and turn up the
vertical gain on the scope to show the weak trace. Any loud pop or
click would drive the trace off-screen. This is why you can tune the
AVC time constants for fast impulse response and fast recovery. It's
nostalgic to remember the dead quiet noise levels, too. (Turner
Broadcasting bought those calls from MIT some time later).
An analyzer like the SB-620 would have to operate in zero bandwidth
mode to show the artifacts on the carrier. I used to have a SB-620 and
I am not sure it worked really decently in that mode. I used to use
mine in 20 kHz sweep mode to look at the space between each adjacent
channel to look for off-freq LA carriers, but that is not at all what
is discussed above. HTH (Bob Foxworth, FL, ibid.)
Bob Foxworth's description of Gordon Nelson's technique to discern SAH
--- and make it a part of the DX'er's vocabulary in the mid-to-late
'60s --- was right on the mark. I lived about a mile west of Gordon in
Watertown and was often a keen observer of his operation in his third
floor apartment at 19 Irma Avenue.
Every week, GPN would be at the Watertown apartment Bob Karchevski and
I shared to put out the mimeographed NRC bulletins. He was IDXD
editor, and built on foundations established by Fred Van Voohees, Pete
Taylor and, perhaps, me. Great memories.
I can add only one element to Foxie's story. When I was in the Army in
Germany in 1958, I began a subscription to the EBU material and
maintained it until I transferred it to Gordon when he took over the
IDXD column. The precision measurements EBU made were indeed a great
tool.
Nelson used such elements as SAH, sunrise and sunset enhancement,
precision direction finding, etc., to establish clues to the signals
that were available, but he never claimed a reception until he got
enough audio that could be linked incontrovertibly to a station.
I recall helping ID some of the weak signals he taped, such as the
Spanish Sahara station on 656, which he was first to hear, and the
Bolivian station, Radio Méndez on 680, whose Aymará Indian music was
unmistakable. (Larry Godwin and I were the first to hear this one in
1966, Godwin in Boulder and I in Houston.)
Those were the days, my friends, those were the days (John Callarman,
Krum TX, ibid.)
FCC MONITORING VANS [non]
I should probably ask this in a broadcast forum, but I wonder when the
last time was that a broadcaster saw an FCC monitoring van? It used to
be common practice for the FCC to show up periodically and do
measurements on TV and radio stations. I haven't heard of an FCC
monitoring van paying a visit to anybody in at least 10 years. I
wonder if they still exist. Back in the "good old days" most of the
big broadcast companies had their own technical compliance programs.
Before leaving Denver, I worked for Cap Cities/ABC (pre Disney ABC) as
the radio division's compliance inspector. ABC had it's own multi-
million dollar monitoring van that went to each of ABC's radio and TV
markets once a year. Among other things, I would do a complete set of
spurious and harmonic measurements for our stations. Sometimes the
local chief engineer would want to look at other stations in the
market that were suspected of having a problem. We always invited the
local FCC engineers to observe our activities, and they usually
accepted our invite. We were always very comfortable knowing that our
facilities were clean and legal. Unfortunately, this program came to
an end when Mr. Eisner and Disney took over ABC (Girard Westerberg
[Clear Channel], Feb 6, Lexington KY, WTFDA via DXLD)
I've not heard of a random inspection since we were inspected at WISC-
TV in the mid-1980s (Doug Smith, W9WI Pleasant View (Nashville), TN
EM66 [WSMV], ibid.)
However, I've already got a contact at the FCC in Portland - we've
been discussing a pirate who's been on with Country on 105.3 and 107.1
here from time to time. He's willing to make the 3 hour drive out here
for that with his equipment, so maybe he'd be willing to pay a visit
to the locals if I don't get any intermod satisfaction! :-) (Dave
Williams Redmond, OR (near Bend, OR), ibid.)
I don't think the Shreveport area is the only one where TV and radio
stations have very low technical standards and poorly maintained
transmission equipment. And it is not the only area with all kinds of
in-band and out-of-band RF interference. Properly-maintained DTV and
IBOC will not kill DX here. Rather, interference from all kinds of
known and *unknown* RF interference will do the job (Danny Shreveport,
LA Oglethorpe, ibid.)
SUPERRADIO III = MURDER WEAPON
What a waste of a good radio! (Gary WA1TJB Smith, NRC-AM via DXLD)
Not if it was one of the misaligned Chinese-made ones!!! (Scott
Fybush, ibid.)
Now that's what I call getting "immersed" in your hobby (Chris Black,
ibid.)
Guess he was in too deep. Guess he still is (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell,
PA, ibid.)
Bet he wishes he had replaced the batteries now (Tom Jones, Mason NH,
ibid.)
Was the radio plugged in, or was it on battery? It is fun when they
mess up somewhere. I'm a locksmith and I love to watch them pick locks
on the TV shows and movies. Sometimes it is so funny. 73s, (Patrick
Martin, ibid.)
What did the poor guy do to deserve such a fate? What a waste of a
good radio! I would have used a clunker like the Walgreen's Lifelong
reviewed and panned as a piece of worthless junk at
http://www.radiointel.com/review-lifelong.htm 73 (Mike Brooker,
Toronto, ON (used to own a GE Superadio I, circa 1980), ibid.)
The couple (both in their 50s at least) seemed to be fighting from the
beginning of the show. It seems he made her listen to her country
music through earphones (or he used them to keep from hearing it).
Squabble, squabble, squabble. Next thing you know he's in the tub and
she tosses the radio in and he gets fried. Monk, being hidden for a
week in a remote cabin adjacent to the couple, hears the man's screams
and suspects foul play. The woman claims her husband is off fishing,
explaining his absence. She stores him in ice for a couple of days in
order to place him in his dinghy during a thunder storm, uses a
propane torch to scorch a spot on the boat to make it look like a
lightning strike, and shoves him 'out to sea'. Next thing you know,
the troopers are there and buy the woman's story of a lightning
strike. Of course, Monk shows up and figures things out. If you missed
it, it's good fun. Monk is a piece of work (BILL Hale, TX, ibid.)
Was the radio plugged in, or was it on battery? It is fun when they
mess up somewhere. I'm a locksmith and I love to watch them pick locks
on the TV shows and movies. Sometimes it is so funny. 73s, (Patrick
Martin, Seaside OR, ibid.)
It WAS plugged in. When Monk was figuring out what had happened, they
even showed the wall receptacle which was blackened and burned. The
technical adviser finally got something right, hi (BILL Hale, ibid.)
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. A few years ago I attended an electrical fire
investigation class taught by an electrical engineer. One of his most
impressive demonstrations was to plug in a handheld hair dryer, turn
it on, and submerge it into an aquarium full of water. It continued to
run pumping water instead of air as he finished his lecture. Of course
this only worked because he took extreme care to make certain that the
water did not have a path to ground. A bathtub or sink has many
potential paths to ground (Patrick Griffith, Westminster, CO, ibid.)
After extensive online research, I have uncovered the title of the
Superadio III episode (tho lots of shows never put the title on the
screen, at least not legibly, but it is in this case, 7 minutes into
the hour after the prologue and first barrage of commercials):
#T-3011: MR. MONK GETS CABIN FEVER == EPISODE PREMIÈRE: February 4,
2005, Here`s the synopsis (but spoiler alert!!)
http://www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/theshow/episodeguide/episodes/s3_cabinfever/index.html
And repeats are coming up Sunday night and Monday midday on the USA
network: Feb 6 10 PM ET, Feb 7 12:30 AM ET, Feb 7 12:00 PM ET
which means UT Mon Feb 7 at 0300, 0530, 1700
YMMV if they also have a delayed west-coast feed.
Another radio angle at the start: Monk breaks car radio whip!
(Glenn Hauser, OK, NRC-AM, DX LISTENING DIGEST)
THE TRAEGER PEDAL RADIO
Meant to include a cross-reference in last issue: AUSTRALIA, 5-022
TIPS FOR RATIONAL LIVING
++++++++++++++++++++++++
BLESS THE CEO and the RECEPTIONIST
If you ever saw the movie, "Bruce Almighty", I've always maintained
that when god takes a day off and puts me in charge, my first mandate
will be to make the CEOs and employees health care proportional to
their level of ethics, honesty, and commitment to the customer.
So, when the CEO of one of these big companies has a heart attack,
they need to call an 800 number and wait for tech support, press one
if you are having mild pains, press two for a crushing pain, and press
three if you are unconscious. After three is pressed, the call is
routed to India, where someone will take the information and write a
medical ticket, and someone will get with them as soon as possible.
A recent study in a business magazine I read stated that 32% of the
people hate the job they are in. Of those in the work force, 53% are
afraid to leave their job because they feel there is nothing to go to,
and they are just riding out the storm. So it's easy to see why DXN
doesn't get to people, and why sometimes 10% of the DXAS tapes are
damaged. Employees just don't care.
Same applies to radio. When I talk to people at stations about
programming and engineering issues, they generally admit that they
don't care. They are there to get a check, and if it sounds bad, so
what. They listen to their IPOD or XM, and not to their own station
(Fred Vobbe, OH, NRC-AM via DXLD)
I wish I could disagree with you Fred but I'm afraid you are right. I
wonder sometimes in the case of radio if some people even remember
what station they work for or where it's located on the AM or FM dial.
It's a pretty sad statement but more often than not, it's true. I
think if my parents could come back to life they would be amazed at
the state of the world. They would love the technology and what it
does but they would be very sad at the state of the work force these
days as far as attitudes go (Lawrence Stoler, ibid.)
What gets me is the large number of stations operating automation
where two or more audios will be running at the same time. Even after
reporting it to the station, it still continues for months afterward.
Number two pet peeve, people on the air that have no concept of the
job. Just this past Friday I was told by a news person at one of the
local clusters that she had received a bulletin that needed to get on
the air. She called the board op, and gave instructions to get it on
quickly. After 25-minutes the bulletin was still not on the air. She
calls back, and the board op says that he didn't know when he could
get it on. Uhhh.... break into programming? (Fred Vobbe, ibid.)
Fred, Exactly! And heaven help you if you really have a problem and
need someone to care enough to do their job. Oops, did I say
Earthlink? (Curt Deegan, ibid.)
I used to wonder as a kid why old people were so nasty. Well, now I am
72 and I now know. It is dealing with people and I have met all kinds.
CEOs and receptionists have no interest in us at all. Neither one
hardly ever knows what business they are in. It could be a radio
station, bank, insurance agency, or new car dealership – it is all the
same to them.
CEOs are concerned only with making a profit any way they can. When
they take a job, they are often thinking of their next job. They also
believe that they are immune. When did you hear of a CEO being fired?
To a receptionist, a job is ``temporary``. They are usually waiting
for the rich, handsome bachelor to show up or the ``Big Call from
Hollywood``.
Not all of them are like this, of course, but I`ve run into too many
who are. Those people at radio stations who are concerned for us are
the engineers and programmers. We should be very nice to them in our
requests and not ask for the moon and then some.
Engineers are interested in our reception reports so that they have
proof of how good their signal is. Reports of different times from
different areas give them a pretty good idea of how the transmitters
are working.
The writers, producers, and hosts of programs are also very interested
in our letters. These people have worked very hard in getting a
program together, polishing it up, then putting it on the air. No
doubt, a number of the hosts have practiced long and hard to clearly
speak some language foreign to them. I often wonder if these
international broadcasters are not like the late night American DJs of
the 60s with their plaintive cry: ``Is there anyone out there
listening?``
A CEO or board member has convinced himself that no one is listening
and all the electronic equipment should have been junked a long time
ago. All the yelling in the world at them won`t change the mind of a
CEO or Board member one iota. ``They know better` is what I have often
heard. These people have one sole purpose in life --- to come as close
to a 100% profit and a 0% expense one way or another, no holds barred;
the ends justify the means.
So I shall be kind to the nice people and ignore everyone else. I can
do that. I am old and nasty. 73, (Bob Fraser, Belfast ME, Musings, Feb
NASWA Journal via DXLD)
PROPAGATION
+++++++++++
LONG-HAUL TRANSEQUATORIAL FM DX, CARIBBEAN TO SOUTHERN BRAZIL, Feb 1-2
ANTIGUA
91.1, 01/02 2347 ATG Observer FM, St. John’s, OM/YL, talks, EE 34333
MARTINICA
94.00, 01/02 2350 MRT Rd. Martinica, Trinité, YL/YL, talks, FF 34333
UNID
96.7, 01/02 0031 ?? Unid, OM, mx pop EE, FF 34333
105.9, 01/02 0103 ?? Unid, OM, nxs, mx, EE 25332
92.9, 01/02 0146 ?? Unid, mx caribenha, OM, FF 33333
REPUBLICA DOMINICANA
96.5, 01/02 0043 DOM Metro FM, Santo Domingo, OM em conversa com
ouvinte, EE 33333
92.5, 01/02 0144 DOM Cadena de Notícias, Santo Domingo, OM, nxs, SS
43333
ANGUILLA
107.5, 01/02 0045 AIA Heartbeat Rd., mx pop EE, EE ??
SANTA LÚCIA
97.3, 01/02 0050 LCA Rd. Santa Lúcia, Castries, OM, mxs, EE 54344
GUADALUPE
97.0, 01/02 0116 GDL RFO Guadeloupe, Basse-Terre, 23332
89.2, 01/02 0120 GDL Radyo Tambour, QTH??, mx caribenha, OM, FF 34333
92.2, 01/02 0134 GDL Rd. Galaxie, QTH??, mx caribenha, FF, QRM Rd.
Martinica - 92.00 MHz 43343
CAYMAN
99.9, 02/02 0211 CYM ZFZZ (Z99), George Town/Grand Cayman, mx
caribenha, OM, EE, id: ``Z99`` 45333
(ESCUTAS DE RUBENS FERRAZ PEDROSO, BANDEIRANTES-PR, BRASIL. RECEPTOR:
SONY ICF SW 7600GR. ANTENA: TELESCÓPICA E LW 17 METROS, @tividade DX
Feb 6 via DXLD) ###